Does The Wife Have To Repay Her Husband’s Gambling Loans?

Story 19 Marriage Law

Jack and Jill are a married couple without kids. Jack works as a chef in a local restaurant in Shanghai, and Jill is a company secretary.

Jack has a terrible habit, gambling. He uses three-fourth’s of his income gambling at everything, and loses it all every time. Jill has tried to get rid of his habit many times, using divorce a threat, but Jack simply converts back to his old habits a month later.

One day, Jack receives ‘insider’ information from a friend on football, and he decides to borrow a million to bet on it illegally. He thinks that it is a win for sure, and he can get all the money he lost back in one go.

However, there is no free lunch in the world, and Jack is even deeper in debt, without a way to pay it off. He decides to disappear in Thailand for a few years, until the loan sharks have forgotten about him to avoid being chopped to pieces.

The loan shark, Alex, knowing that Jack has a wife who has a stable income, knocks on her door late one night.

‘Your husband Jack owes us 1 million. Pay me the money’ Alex demanded.

‘I haven’t seen him in ages. Go find him and make him cough up the money, not me’ Jill said.

‘You are his wife, and he is missing. Therefore, it is now your responsibility to pay the money.’ Alex said, getting impatient.

‘No, I am not paying a penny. Leave now or I shall call the cops.’ Replied Jill, slamming the door shut.

So is it Jill’s obligation to pay Jack’s debts?

Law In A Minute

No, as Jack indulged in illegal gambling, the court will not make Jill pay for Jack’s mistakes.

According to Chinese law, couples have a common obligation, but this is only restricted to legal activities, like buying houses or cars or other assets. Illegal activities like taking drugs, gambling and prostitution is not counted.

Legal Basis

Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of the Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China (II)

• Article 24 

During the existence of the marriage, if either the husband or wife files a claim for a personal debt in the name of one party, the debt shall be treated as a joint debt of the husband and wife, unless either the husband or wife is able to prove that the creditor and the debtor have clearly stipulated it as a personal debt or to show that the debt is under any of the circumstance as prescribed in the third paragraph of Article 19 of the Marriage Law.

Where a third party claims rights over any debt fabricated by one spouse in collusion with the third party, the people's court shall not support the third party's claim.

Where a third party claims right over any debt owed by one spouse when he or she commits any violation or crime, such as gambling and drug use, the people's court shall not support the third-party's claim.

About the Author

Edgar Choi is the author of five books, viz: Commercial Law in a Minute; Financial Law In A Minute; Economic Law in a Minute; Intellectual Property Law in a Minute and The Miracles Of Finance. These books shall be in print by early 2020. Edgar is a law graduate of the Fudan University with a mission is to promote law to serve better mankind, and he believes that legal literacy is a key factor to success. Since his childhood, Edgar has been taking joy in writing fiction and short stories. He hopes that through reading his legal stories, the traditional, passive way of learning law in class can be disrupted and readers can experience a brand new world by taking an active role and spending a few minutes every day in this series to have fun and actually remember what was read. Edgar can be contacted by scanning the QR code below, searching WeChat ‘edgarwlchoi’, and by email ‘[e-mail]’.

Edgar can be contacted by scanning the QR code below, searching WeChat ‘edgarwlchoi’, and by email ‘[e-mail]’.

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